Gender gap in astronomical sciences

Aswin Sekhar*

doi:10.1038/nindia.2018.27 Published online 8 March 2018

The poor representation of women in
science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines is widely known1.
Gender imbalance in higher academia is a matter of concern in most parts of the
world.

In academia and research positions,
women fare a tad better in first world countries compared to low and middle
income economies2. However, recent statistics released by the International
Astronomical Union (IAU), a global body of professional astronomers and
astrophysicists, paint a picture contrary to the situation in other STEM
disciplines. The membership figures of the prestigious body reveal a greater gender
imbalance in astrophysical sciences in scientifically advanced countries as
compared to third world nations.

Out of a total membership of 12, 514,
only 16.6 % IAU members are female and the rest 83.4% male – by no means a
desirable ratio.

Interestingly, some Latin American,
Eastern European and South East Asian countries do better in terms of gender
parity in astronomical sciences. The countries which have the ratio of female
astronomers (to male counterparts) greater than 25% are Argentina (38%), Bulgaria
(37%), Honduras (50%), Peru (33%), Romania (33%), Serbia (30%), Thailand (36%),
Turkey (26%), Ukraine (29%), Venezuela (31%) and Vietnam (38%). Countries from
the west comparable to this list are Italy (26%) and France (25%).

Other prosperous western countries
offering quality science education and outreach do rather badly in terms of
gender parity in astronomy (although the absolute number of active female
astronomers in these countries is much higher). Some notable examples are
Australia (16%), Belgium (18%), Canada (14%), Denmark (14%), Finland (17%),
Germany (12%), Iceland (0%), Ireland (22%), New Zealand (11%), Norway (15%),
Spain (20%), Sweden (13%), Switzerland (11%), United Kingdom (13%), United
States (14%) and Vatican (0%). These numbers clearly show that even in the most
scientifically advanced and modern societies, astronomical sciences remain a
male bastion.

In India, women astronomers form as low
as 9% of the community. Importantly, India has never appointed a female
chairperson to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), a female
secretary to the department of space or a female director to a top observatory
in the country. For other Asian neighbours – China (13%), Pakistan (0%),
Bangladesh (0%), Sri Lanka (0%), Iran (10%), UAE (0%), Oman (0%) and Saudi
Arabia (0%) – the numbers are equally gloomy.

Why doesn't astronomy attract women?

It is puzzling why the exciting world of
astronomy remains less open or less attractive to women as a long term career
(in comparison to other basic sciences) even in this day and age. One of the
oldest sciences, logically speaking, it should be more evolved, accommodating
and welcoming to members of all genders at all levels.

However, it hasn’t been so. A glaring
example of gender prejudice in astronomical sciences was the exclusion of
Jocelyn Bell Burnell from the 1974 Nobel Prize in Physics, awarded to her
thesis supervisor Antony Hewish and to astronomer Martin Ryle4 for
the discovery of pulsars. Although it was Burnell who first detected and
observed pulsars in 1967, Hewish and Ryle received the Nobel for the discovery.

Astronomy is one of the oldest sciences,
thanks to its role in timekeeping, calendars, seasons and navigation. In the
early modern era, Indian astronomers were among the hand-picked intellectuals forming
the inner circle of royal courts inaccessible to women.

As women’s participation in higher
levels of fundamental sciences increased over the ages, more and more women have
found their way into STEM disciplines. For instance, particle physicist Fabiola
Gianotti, the present director general of CERN, is the first woman to hold the
position. Astronomy, however, still seems to lag behind as compared to other
basic sciences. It is quite unlikely to find a female scientist heading a top
space agency (such as NASA, European Space Agency or ISRO) or for that matter,
heading the editorial board of top journals in astrophysical sciences. Nature Astronomy, however, is an exception
with a woman chief editor.

Can
the astronomy community help?

Interestingly enough, the IAU president
is a woman leading the IAU board with a good number of female and male
astronomers in high positions.

Typically, full time IAU members are
recommended by a national committee in their respective countries or workplaces.
Undergraduate, masters or doctoral students are not part of this list. Full
members are either senior faculty or senior postdocs.

The latest statistics show the inability
of many western countries in retaining female staff for longer periods compared
to their Latin American and east European counterparts. In other words, there
is a bigger drop-out rate of female astronomy students in western and Asian
cultures (in direct comparison to some scientifically active Latin American and
east European countries) before they become senior enough to be inducted to
IAU.

The issue merits attention
and serious examination of the exact reasons or patterns behind the trend.

Since the IAU takes all major decisions
regarding official nomenclature, definitions, terminology and naming of various
celestial bodies, it is only fair that all genders on the planet have an equal
say in the matter of the cosmos and outer space.

*Aswin
Sekhar is an Indian astrophysicist and IAU member based at The Centre for Earth
Evolution and Dynamics, University of Oslo, Norway.